Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka – 6th Match – 05 September 2023 – Asia Cup 2023
Sri Lanka have qualified to the next round of Asia Cup after beating Afghanistan in a thriller by just 2 runs. Afghanistan fought valiantly till the end but just couldn’t get over the line missing out on even the consolation win courtesy a brilliant fight back Sri Lankans at the end. Afghanistan had to achieve their target in 37.1 overs to qualify for the next round which they narrowly missed.
Sri Lanka Innings – Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka – 6th Match – 05 September 2023 – Asia Cup 2023
Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat first as they wanted to put a grand total on the board at Lahore. They started well with a solid opening partnership of 63 runs in 10.2 overs. Gulbadin Naib broke this partnership and took the wicket of Dimuth Karunaratne who made 32 off 33. After this, Sri Lanka were in trouble at 86-3 when Gulbadin Naib dismissed both Pathum Nissanka (41 off 40) and Sadeera Samarawickrama for just 3 off 8 deliveries.
Kusal Mendis and Charith Asalanka made a brilliant and important partnership of 102 runs in the next 17 overs and provided a firm stand for the team to score big. But Rashid Khan came and broke the partnership when he took the catch of Asalanka (36 off 43) off his own bowling. Dhananjaya De Silva (14 off 19) was the next who was clean bowled by Mujeeb Ur Rahman. Sri Lanka were now 221-5 in 38.1 overs.
Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka – Mendis’s Runout
Kusal Mendis was in full control of the situation and was looking dangerous to score big, but he got run out in the most unfortunate and bizarre fashion. He was batting on 92 off just 84 deliveries when Rashid Khan dropped a straight catch of the captain, Dasun Shanaka, off his own bowling, but the bowl went straight to hit the stumps, running out Mendis, who was well out of his crease. Mendis was in disbelief while walking out off the ground after playing a magnificent innings.
In the same over, Rashid clean bowled the Sri Lankan captain, Shanaka (5 off 8). All of the sudden, Sri Lanka were in all sorts of trouble as they were now 227-7 in 39.3 overs. But Dunith Wellalage and Maheesh Theekshana put up a fight and added 52 runs for the 8th wicket, making sure Sri Lanka see off the allotted 50 overs. Wellalage scored 33 off 39 whereas Theekshana scored 28 off 24. He got out on the last ball of the innings.
Gulbadin Naib was the pick of the bowlers with 4-60, followed by Rashid Khan with 2-63.
Sri Lanka gave Afghanistan a target of 292 runs. For Afghanistan to qualify, they had to achieve this target in 37.1 overs. Sri Lanka needed to at least prevent Afghanistan from achieving the target in 37.1 overs.
Afghanistan Innings – Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka – 6th Match – 05 September 2023 – Asia Cup 2023
Afghanistan had a poor start to their innings as they lost their first wicket for 10 runs. The danger man Rahmanullah Gurbaz (4 off 8) was caught behind off the bowling of Rajitha. Ibrahim Zadran was the next man to depart after scoring 7 off 14. He was clean bowled by Rajitha. Gulbadin Naib continued his bried onslaught but not for long as he was dismissed by Pathirana after scoring 22 off 16. Afghanistan were now in trouble at 50-3 in 8.1 overs. Rahmat Shah and Hashmatullah Shahidi added 71 runs in the next 10 overs for the 4th wicket partnership. Rahmat Shah was dismissed by Rajitha after scoring 45 off 40. Afghanistan were now 121-4 in 18.4 overs.
In came the veteran batsman Mohammad Nabi, who rose to the occasion with his outstanding performance. Nabi scored 65 off just 32 deliveries. While doing so, he scored the fastest ODI fifty by an Afghani player off just 24 balls. But he was dismissed after bringing Afghanistan to the brink of victory and qualification to the next round. He was caught by De Silva off the bowling of Theekshana. But Hashmatullah continued the onslaught as he was well supported by Karim Jannat, keeping the game alive.
Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka – Sri Lanka’s come back
Wellalage brought Sri Lanka to the game with his 2 wickets in one over. Karim Jannat was the next man to depart after scoring a handy 22 off 13. He was dismissed by Wellalage. Soon after, the captain Hashmatullah Shahidi was dismissed by Wellalage after scoring a captain’s knock of 59 off 66. Afghanistan were now 237-7 in 31.5 overs, needing 55 runs of 37 deliveries to qualify for the next round.
Rashid Khan and Najibullah Zadran kept Afghanistan’s hopes alive as they added 39 runs for the 8th wicket partnership. Zadran (23 off 15) was the next man to depart courtesy of Rajitha, who took his 4th wicket of the match.
Rashid Khan now took it upon himself, taking his team closer to their potentially most remarkable win in their short cricket history as Afghanistan needed 15 off the next 7 balls whereas Wellalage took the ball, seeking glory for his side. After the first 2 balls being dot balls, Rashid scored an important boundary, but the next ball was again a dot ball. Afghanistan now needed 11 off 3 to qualify to the next round of the Asia Cup 2023. Rashid scored one boundary over extra cover and got another boundary of a lucky inside edge, bringing the equation to 3 off 1.
Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka – Drama Continued
Dhananjaya De Silva came to bowl that decider ball (as we all thought but wait for the twist) to take his side to the next round. Rashid was at the bowler’s end as luck would have it. Mujeeb (0 off 3) was dismissed on the very first ball of the over, almost crushing Afghanistan’s hopes, but this match wasn’t over yet. Afghanistan had got another chance….‘from heavens’. They could qualify and knock Sri Lanka out if they scored another 6 runs off the next 3 balls. But Rashid was still off strike with the last man at the striker’s end. Next man in was Fazalhaq Farooqi.
Farooqi couldn’t score any runs off the next 2 deliveries, courtesy of some brilliant bowling of De Silva. Now, Afghanistan needed 6 runs of the last ball to get their ticket for the next round. But Farooqi missed, as the ball hit his pads and was given out lbw. De Silva demolished Afghanistan’s hopes as Afghanis missed the chance given from heavens. Rashid (27* off 16) looked in despair as he had no support from the other end. Apart from qualifying to the next round, Afghanistan lost the chance to take a consolation win home. Sri Lanka won this classic match by just 2 runs, qualifying for the Super 4 round of Asia Cup 2023.
Kusal Mendis was declared player of the match for his 92 off 84,
Conclusion – Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka – 6th Match – 05 September 2023 – Asia Cup 2023
Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka match proved to be a classic thriller, which will go down as one of the best matches in Asia Cup tournament history. Both teams fought till the end, giving quality entertainment to the spectators.
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FAQs – Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka – 6th Match – 05 September 2023 – Asia Cup 2023
Question 1: What was the target set by Sri Lanka for Afghanistan to qualify for the next round in their Asia Cup match, and why was it crucial for Afghanistan to achieve this target?
Answer: Sri Lanka set a target of 292 runs for Afghanistan to qualify for the next round in their Asia Cup match. Afghanistan had to achieve this target in 37.1 overs to advance to the next stage.
Question 2: Who were the key contributors with the bat for Sri Lanka, and who was the standout bowler for Afghanistan in the match?
Answer: Kusal Mendis played a crucial innings, scoring 92 off 84 balls for Sri Lanka. Gulbadin Naib was the standout bowler for Afghanistan, taking 4 wickets for 60 runs.
Question 3: Describe the remarkable performance of Mohammad Nabi in the match. What record did he set during his innings?
Answer: Mohammad Nabi delivered a remarkable performance, scoring 65 off just 32 deliveries. He set the record for the fastest ODI fifty by an Afghan player, achieving it in just 24 balls.
Question 4: Who were the key bowlers for Sri Lanka that played a pivotal role in defending their target against Afghanistan? Mention their key contributions.
Answer: Rajitha and Wellalage were the key bowlers for Sri Lanka. Rajitha took crucial wickets, finishing with four wickets in the match. Wellalage also played a pivotal role, taking key wickets to bring Sri Lanka back into the game.
Question 5: Describe the dramatic final over of the match and the role played by Rashid Khan and the last delivery’s impact on Afghanistan’s chances in the tournament.
Answer: The final over of the match was filled with tension as Rashid Khan and his partner needed 6 runs off the last ball to qualify Afghanistan for the next round. However, they couldn’t score the required runs, and Afghanistan missed the chance to advance. Rashid Khan looked in despair as the last delivery determined their fate in the tournament.
